A political rant

Look out, a rare political "rant" from me. Note that "rant" is in quotes, because it's probably too strong a word for what I'm going to write here; a rant is usually fuelled by some passionate belief in or against something, and I am just not that passionate about politics. But something I saw the other day did kind of piss me off, so I had to share it. Actually, I have two things to say; the first just a comment, the second is the rant.

Anyway, onto my thoughts. Whimsley and Yappa Ding Ding wrote a couple of weeks ago about Bob Rae becoming leader of the federal Liberal Party. Yappa likes the idea, while Whimsley doesn't; not because it's Bob Rae, but because the idea of someone joining a political party as leader bothers him, and I have to agree. When Jean Charest quit the federal Conservative Party to become the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party a few years ago, I was confused. I mean, political parties are built on beliefs and ideals about how to govern, they're not just distinct groups of people. It's not like Johnny Damon leaving the Red Sox to join the Yankees. I would have thought that changing parties would be akin to someone raised Catholic deciding to suddenly convert to Judaism, which I suppose is not that big a deal. However, in the case of a party leader quitting to join a different party as its leader, it would be like the Pope deciding to give up all this Catholic stuff and become a rabbi. I will be the first to admit that I'm less than knowledgeable about politics, so am I missing something?

Now, the rant. In the last federal budget, a new childcare credit was created, so that parents of kids under 4 can get $100 a month for childcare (or beer and popcorn if you so desire). I downloaded the necessary forms from the government website yesterday, and was dismayed to see this at the top:

For CCTB purposes, when both a male and a female parent live in the same home as the child, we presume that the female parent is primarily responsible and should apply, unless a note from the female parent is attached to this application that states that the male parent is primarily responsible for the child.

Once again, as a father, I am considered "less important" than Gail, simply because I am male and she is female. Gail gives the boys their baths more often than I do, just because I don't particularly like doing it and she doesn't mind. Gail cooks more often than I do because she's a better cook. And she gets the boys clothes ready more often because she is more concerned about what they wear, and if the shirt and shorts go together and stuff like that. But I make the boys breakfast and Ryan's lunch every day. I start dinner when I'm home before Gail. I do laundry as often as Gail does, and when it's done, I end up folding it more often because she hates doing that part. I'm not going to go through and list everything that each of us does for the kids, but suffice it to say that Gail and I are equally capable of caring for our children. The idea that I need a fucking note signed by my wife to say that is sexist and insulting.

Technorati tags:
Politics
Childcare